Distress of Muslims at the Terms of the
Hudaybiyyah Agreement
During the settlement of the terms of
agreement, dissatisfaction prevailed among the Muslims in the
camp. The reason for this was the insistence of the Quraysh
upon certain points which demonstrated their superiority and
the Muslims felt that they were accepting these under pressure
from the Quraysh. ‘Umar (rta) became impatient with the terms
and asked the Prophet (sws) whether the Quraysh were not on
the side of falsehood and themselves (Muslims ) not on the
side of truth? The Prophet (sws) answered: “Certainly!” ‘Umar
asked again whether the Quraysh would not go to Hell and
Muslims to Paradise in case a war was fought. The Prophet (sws)
answered: “This will happen, without doubt.” ‘Umar then said
that in that case, why should they face humiliation and return
to Madinah, whereas God had still not decided between the
Quraysh and the Muslims? The Prophet (sws) answered: “Ibn
Khittab; I am God’s prophet. He will not waste me.”
The mindset represented by ‘Umar (rta) in
this dialogue shows that he felt humiliated at returning to
Madinah and wished to fight in order to meet the requirement
of the Pledge of Ridwan and to bring it to its natural
conclusion. The Prophet (sws) reassured him that there was no
need to worry. God’s prophet was under the direct protection
of God. He does not do anything which could cause
embarrassment for those on the path of the truth.
The inequality that was evident in the
clause related to Muslims who went to Makkah from Madinah and
would not be returned was also a matter upon which Muslims
sought clarity from the Prophet (sws). He answered: “Anyone
who leaves us to go to the Quraysh will be rejected by God. He
will be of no use to us. As far as he who comes to us from
Madinah is concerned, God will find a way out for him soon.”
This clause was implemented at the same time that the
agreement was signed upon Abu Jandal, the son of Suhayl ibn
‘Amr himself. He tried to run away to the Muslim camp. He
cried and lamented that he was being oppressed in Makkah and
wanted to be saved from that situation. Suhayl demanded that
according to the agreement, his son should be returned to him.
If this was not done, the agreement would become invalid. The
Prophet (sws) consoled Abu Jandal and told him that God would
take care of him and returned him to the Quraysh. This
incident shook the entire Muslim community and they felt the
one sidedness of the agreement severely. The clarification
which the Prophet (sws) gave about this clause indicates that
he interpreted it in the light of the Sunnah of God related to
guidance and perdition. The individual who wished to return to
the darkness of ignorance after being exposed to the light of
Islam was already bereft of God’s blessings to accept the
truth. Why should then such a person remain associated with
the community of Muslims? What could be the benefit of
regaining him from the Quraysh? Similarly, the hope of success
for the Muslims of Makkah was based on the fact that the
agreement had been finalized at the hands of the Prophet (sws)
under direct supervision of God. Thus, its consequences were
His responsibility.
When the truce agreement had been signed,
it was useless to lengthen the stay in Hudaybiyyah. For the
situation when barriers were faced after Muslims had made a
formal intention to offer ‘umrah or hajj, and it no longer
became possible to fulfill this intention, verse 196 of Surah
Baqarah had also been revealed according to which animals
already dedicated for sacrifice were to be sacrificed and
ahrams taken off. With this instruction in mind, the Prophet (sws)
asked his Companions to sacrifice their animals, shave off
their heads and remove their ahrams. The Companions were so
sorrowful at the terms of the agreement that they made no move
to do anything and no one got up to act upon the instructions.
The Prophet (sws) went to his tent in a state of extreme
worry. When the mother of the believers, Umm Salamah (rta) saw
his face so strained, she asked him the reason. He told her
about the response from the Companions. She advised him to
carry out the sacrifice of his own animal. When people saw
him, they would not lag behind in following his example. The
Prophet (sws) followed her suggestion and people started to
move and in obedience to their Prophet (sws), began to shave
their heads and sacrifice their animals. After removing the
ahrams, the Prophet (sws) ordered return to Madinah.
During the return journey to Madinah, the
Muslims were very tired and sorrowful. Everyone was lost in
his/her thoughts. The questions that were worrying all of them
and for which they could not find any answers were:
1. What was the benefit of a journey
as a result of which Muslims were returning without having
gained their purpose while the enemy rejoiced?
2. After taking an oath to fight,
why was there a need for a truce, when the real purpose had
been to conquer Makkah?
3. The dreams of prophets are always
true; why did this dream of the Prophet (sws) appear to be
false?
The Prophet (sws)
reassured his people that they had returned safe and sound and
that, despite having gone to the central place of the enemy,
the stage of bloody fighting had not been reached. However,
the rewards for jihad and ‘umrah were reserved for them with
God. Returning in the manner they did was not at all the same
as returning without having achieved their purpose. As far as
the dream was concerned, that was true, but it had not
specified any time. Hence, if the ‘umrah had been postponed by
one year, that was the most appropriate and relevant time for
it to be offered. But the Companions were so shocked at their
return that their minds could find no solace. At last God
honoured them and revealed Surah Fath during the journey.
After the revelation, the Prophet (sws) told the Companions
that the surah that had been revealed to him that night was
more precious to him than anything else in the world. It is
narrated that he called ‘Umar (rta) specially because he had
openly expressed his dissatisfaction. This surah gave
convincing replies to all the queries that had been troubling
the minds of the Companions.
Surah Fath praised
fully the attitude which the faithful had adopted during this
mission. It said that the attitude was made possible by the
sakinah which God had blessed his servants with. The surah
criticised the attitude of the Quraysh which resulted in their
pride becoming the cause of their ignorance. This needs
further elaboration.
Sakinah means
patience, perseverance, serenity, forbearance, dignity and
wisdom. God had blessed his servants with these qualities
during that journey. They did not get influenced by the lowly
actions of their foe nor did anything in retaliation that
might have been against God’s will or against the
appropriateness of their faith, although many groups may well
act in haste under such provocative circumstances and damage
their cause irretrievably. Examples of the occasions at which
sakinah were demonstrated are:
1. Muslims showed no fear at going
inside the enemy’s den without any arms at the call from the
Prophet (sws) to accompany him. They had belief in the dream
of the Prophet (sws) and faith in the fact that God was with
His Messenger. Hence this journey served to enhance their
faith.
2. Muslims had left Madinah with the
intention to offer ‘umrah. They did not let this purpose out
of sight throughout the journey and did not forget any of the
rules that were binding as a result. The base actions of the
Quraysh were unable to turn them away from their objective.
3. In spite of the humiliating
attitude, ridicule and sarcasm of the Quraysh, they persevered
and did not lose their patience.
4. Although they were sorrowful and
intensely emotional about some of the terms of the truce
agreement, they did not undertake any rebellious action, but
showed steadfastness at the orders of the Prophet (sws) and
left the matter to God.
5. At the rumours of ‘Uthman (rta)
having being killed, they took the oath with great fervor,
although they had not come prepared for a formal battle. They
had full faith in assistance from God.
(Translated by Nikhat
Sattar)
|